Class Outline:

Wednesday December 14,2022

“Your kingdom come.”

 

The kingdom of God is the only true kingdom.

 

“The Lord is King, not borrowing this title from the kings of the earth, but having lent His own title to them; and not the name only, but having so ordered,          that all true rule and government upon earth, with its righteous laws, its stable ordinances, its punishment and grace, its majesty and its terror, should tell of Him and of His kingdom which rules over all - so that ‘kingdom of God’ is not in fact a figurative expression, but most literal: it is rather the earthly kingdoms and the earthly kings that are figures and shadows of the true.” [Dean Trench, Notes on the Parables]

 

It should be stated that there are five facets of the kingdom of God. There is the universal kingdom in which God is always in control of history; the spiritual kingdom made up of all believers since Adam to the last one, the theocratic kingdom which is Israel, the Millennial kingdom which is the literal, earthly thousand year reign of Christ, and the mystery kingdom which is the one facet that was not revealed in the OT but was introduced by Jesus in Mat 13 just after He was rejected by Israel, which seems to be the time between His first and second advents.

 

Although the kingdom of God is not present physically upon the earth at this time, for want of a better word, we describe the church as the spiritual kingdom since we are members of the kingdom of God, and its ways and rules are in our hearts.

 

The focus of this prayer is the spiritual kingdom in our hearts.

 

Because there is a universal kingdom of God, which means that God is the sovereign ruler of the whole world, people have been able to survive on this planet. If it were not true, Cain and his descendants would have killed everyone and then themselves long ago. Everyone born into this world has the advantages of the external and temporal kingdom that has feebly attempted to copy the kingdom of God, and as far from that kingdom as the kingdoms of men are, they have been enough to keep the human race alive, and in some cases that come closer to the true kingdom than others, have even strived.

 

But then, born-again, born of the Spirit of God, we are introduced to the eternal and peculiar privileges of Christ’s kingdom. And we come to find out that this kingdom is not to be material, is not to have visible boundaries on earth, but that it is within us.

 

Replacement theology states that the kingdom in our hearts replaces the promised material kingdom promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, but that is not true. Our kingdom was a mystery, not prophesied or before known. Jew and Gentile would be one new man in Christ who would enjoy the spiritual blessings of the New Covenant, but not the material. In vein we seek for a visible Christ sitting on a throne in Israel during our age. But He is within us, our hope of glory, and His kingdom is within us. And He will come again to establish His spiritual and material kingdom in which He will reign for one-thousand years.

 

The kingdom of God is a concept that includes three things: the right to rule, a realm in which ruling authority is exercised, and the reality of that authority actually being exercised. The realm in our age is only the hearts of believers. The realm in the Millennium will be in the hearts of believers and also within the land boundaries of the Palestinian Covenant.

 

Only one King fulfills David’s idea of a king.

 

2SA 23:1-4

Now these are the last words of David.

David the son of Jesse declares,

And the man who was raised on high declares,

The anointed of the God of Jacob,

And the sweet psalmist of Israel,

2 "The Spirit of the Lord spoke by me,

And His word was on my tongue.

3 "The God of Israel said,

The Rock of Israel spoke to me,

'He who rules over men righteously,

Who rules in the fear of God,

4 Is as the light of the morning when the sun rises,

A morning without clouds,

When the tender grass springs out of the earth,

Through sunshine after rain.'

 

The King is a poet and a warrior. He is meek and righteous and also terrifying.

 

PSA 45:1-5 For the choir director; according to the Shoshannim. A Maskil of the sons of Korah. A Song of Love.

 

My heart overflows with a good theme;

I address my verses to the King;

My tongue is the pen of a ready writer.

2 You are fairer than the sons of men;

Grace is poured upon Your lips;

Therefore God has blessed You forever.

 

3 Gird Your sword on Your thigh, O Mighty One,

In Your splendor and Your majesty!

4 And in Your majesty ride on victoriously,

For the cause of truth and meekness and righteousness;

Let Your right hand teach You awesome things.

5 Your arrows are sharp;

The peoples fall under You;

Your arrows are in the heart of the King's enemies.

 

Who doesn’t long for such a leader or a kingdom where only righteousness dwells. As our own nation is precipitously declining, we must remember that the kingdom of God is in our hearts, and that anyone through faith can enter it with us.

 

God’s kingdom differs from all others in that its King is the Most High God and that its subjects are all men who are willing to become its subjects, and all who desire to obey the will of God rather than any other. No man is subject of this kingdom by birth. All men who are of the second birth are its subjects.

 

JOH 3:3-5

"Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."  4 Nicodemus said to Him, "How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born, can he?" 5 Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

 

Any person born with natural privileges, no matter how great they are, is not born in this privilege. We are all born into this world with the king and queen of sin and death ruling over us, independent of material wealth and influence.

 

The sovereigns of the world of mankind are sin and death. Christ brought the kingdom of God to the world.

 

ROM 5:19-21

For as through the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the One the many will be made righteous. 20 And the Law came in that the transgression might increase; but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, 21 that, as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

 

The kingdom of God is not founded upon the material things of earthly kingdoms who seek protection and sustenance. The kingdom of God is within us.

 

ROM 14:13-17

Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather determine this —  not to put an obstacle or a stumbling block in a brother's way. 14 I know and am convinced in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself; but to him who thinks anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean. 15 For if because of food your brother is hurt, you are no longer walking according to love. Do not destroy with your food him for whom Christ died. 16 Therefore do not let what is for you a good thing be spoken of as evil; 17 for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

 

We did not enter this kingdom by some fortunate circumstance, but by faith in Christ as our Savior.

 

“Your kingdom come” is a desire for our hearts to yield to our King.

 

We are praying that this kingdom be established in our hearts, for though we are members of it forever, we may not yield our will to our King.

 

The power to yield our will to Him comes in the first petition, “sanctified be Your name.” He is our Father and He has transferred us from the domain of darkness into the kingdom of His beloved Son. We are born again, new creatures, imputed with righteousness and all through the Son of God, the image of the invisible God, creator of all things, first-born from the dead, and preeminent in everything, who reconciled us in His blood.

 

When we believed in Christ as our Savior, we became something that we were not before.

 

The kingdom demands that we abide by all its laws. This is the law of Christ. Christ fulfilled the Mosaic Law. The kingdom within us takes possession of every department of activity of every region of actual life. We live as if we are walking in the physical kingdom in heaven. With opposition from sin, the evil of the world, and the fiery attacks from the kingdom of darkness, we must pray again and again, “Your kingdom come -” be established and built up in my heart.